Only two days remain in the 2024 World Series of Poker, and today marked the first of two days of the Main Event final table. The most dramatic final table in poker brought plenty of action and excitement as the final nine battled it out for the $10 million top prize. Elsewhere in Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas, five other events were in action, and two of the final WSOP bracelets of the summer were awarded.

Astedt Claims Slim Lead Over Tamayo and Griff in Main Event

The 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event was supposed to play down to four on the first of two days of play on the final table, but like last year, only three players will return to determine the latest victor of the most high profile poker tournament of the year. Niklas “lena900” Astedt (223 million) will return with the chip lead, but only 12 big blinds separate him from Day 8 chip leader Jordan Griff (187 million), with Jonathan Tamayo (197 million) sandwiched in between. Astedt and Griff spent almost the entire day exchanging the chip lead, with Tamayo snatching it briefly before the final elimination of the day.

Day 7 chip leader Malo Latinois was the first to depart from poker’s grandest stage, after getting his last seven big blinds in with . Griff gave him action with , and Latinois jumped ahead on a flop. Griff ended matters a street early when he drilled a set on the turn, and the river was a cruel needle for Latinois, who took solace in the $1 million payday he already locked up for his final table appearance. At this point, Griff had almost double second place Astedt’s chip stack and was running away with the chip lead.

Astedt’s first strike back came an hour later, with the blinds still at 1 million/2 million. Griff opened to 4 million under the gun with , and Astedt laid a trap and just called in the small blind with . Joe “floes” Serock took the bait and three-bet shoved for 39.7 million in the big blind with , and after Griff folded, Astedt quickly made the call. A flop bricked off for Serock, and while the turn added a pair of additional outs, the river instead improved Astedt to a straight, leaving Serock with a $1.25 million consolation prize for his eighth-place performance.

Brian Kim was the next player to tangle with the Swedish online phenom a short time later. Boris Angelov opened to 4.6 million on the button with , and Kim three-bet to 11.8 million with in the small blind. Astedt four-bet to 18 million with in the big blind, and after Angelov folded, Kim opted to go for glory, five-bet jamming for 53.9 million. Astedt made the call with his pair, and found a set on a flop. Kim stayed alive with a flush draw on the turn, but found a useless pair on the river to end his run in seventh place for $1.5 million.

After a trio of eliminations in Level 40, the pace of play slowed down a bit, as Tamayo and Angelov both found doubles in Level 41 while Griff and Astedt traded the chip lead back and forth. The gap between the chip leaders and short stacks continued to grow, until Andres Gonzalez made a stand in Level 42 with for his last 20.5 big blinds. He was up against the of Astedt, and fell way behind on an flop. No miracle would come on the turn or river, and Gonzalez had to settle for a $2 million payday for his skill in maneuvering the shortest stack at the start of play.

Six hands later, it was Angelov’s turn to rip the short stack, as he jammed for his last six big blinds with . Tamayo looked him up with , and was instantly rewarded with a flop, leaving Angelov looking for a single out. That out was removed when the turn gave Tamayo a lock on the hand, and Angelov and his rail could only sit in stunned silence as the confirmed his elimination in fifth, with $2.5 million heading back to Bulgaria.

The day was scheduled to end with four players remaining, but play continued on, with Jason Sagle trying to hang on with a short stack. The Canadian, who never really found much traction on the day, finally found a hand when he three-bet shoved for 28 million with over a 6 million chip open from Astedt and his . Astedt tanked for a few minutes before making the call, and Sagle kept the lead on a flop. Astedt picked up more outs with the turn, before finding a wheel on the river to make Sagle the final elimination of Day 9. Sagle’s deep run in fourth netted him a cool $3 million for his efforts.

This year’s final three are noticeably shallower in stack than last year’s (average stack 67.4 big blinds versus 100.5 in 2023), despite a striking similarity in chip breakdown. Will Astedt, named the greatest player in online poker history by PocketFives users in 2021, be able to add the title of World Champion to an online career with over $48 million in lifetime cashes? Will Tamayo earn validation on a lengthy career spanning nearly two decades and $2.3 million in cashes with a victory in poker’s biggest spectacle? Or will Griff, an underdog with just $47,192 in career earnings, leap the pros and make this his unlikely entrance into poker immortality? 

Luo Rides High and Ships High Roller H.O.R.S.E.

Xixiang Luo overcame one of the tougher final fields you’ll ever see in Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. to earn his second gold bracelet and $725,796. The likely 2024 WSOP Player of the Year Scott Seiver ran out of steam before falling in sixth, while Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey was able to grind his way to fourth. Michael Moncek had managed to make two final tables on the same day, and while he busted out of the $3,200 Hybrid online event in one hand, he ran significantly better in this event, ultimately busting in third. Daher was hoping to remove his name from the “best without a bracelet” list, but Luo simply ran him over in heads-up action to earn the victory.

Walden Wins Marathon Heads-Up Battle for Poker HOF Bounty Victory

In Event #95: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em, Jamie Walden survived a three-hour heads up battle with Naseem Salem to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and a $313,370 payday. The start of heads-up saw the stacks nearly even, but with only 67 big blinds left in play, a speedy conclusion looked to be in the cards given the pace of proceedings thus far. That proved to be false, as Salem and Walden spent the next four levels swapping the chip lead back and forth before Walden made a flush on Salem’s two pair to earn the victory. 

Nguyen on Pace to Win Lucky 7’s

Only five of the 296 players who started the day in Event #93: $777 Lucky Sevens No-Limit Hold’em will return for the final day of play, with Duc Nguyen (119,200,000) holding a commanding lead, with more than double second-place Michael Liang (52,500,000). Dan Heimiller, Shaun Buchanan and Joe Kuether all made deep runs, while Jorge Postigo was the final elimination of the day courtesy of his aces being cracked by the pocket fours of Liang.

Deeb and Foxen In Contention in $3k 6-Max PLO 

The 134 returning players in Event #97″ $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha were whittled down to just 17 on Day 2, with Andrew Watson (5,200,000) enjoying a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. Shaun Deeb (1,675,000) and Alex Foxen (980,000) both survived the day and sit in the bottom half of the pack, while Matt Stout, Ethan “Rampage” Yau, Nacho Barbero and Matthew Wantman all secured a cash before bowing out.

Bleznick Looks For Second Bracelet in a Week in The Closer

Another 2,401 entrants joined the 814 from yesterday in Event #98: $1,500The Closer, and just 277 of them found a bag at the end of play. Martin Stausholm (2,035,000) will take the overall chip lead into Day 2, with Jared Bleznick (1,540,000), John Racener (1,295,000), and David Coleman (750,000) all making their way through the second-to-last tournament of the 2024 World Series of Poker.

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